Connections
by ComatoseButterfly
Summary: Trucy, charged with the murder of Valant, needs a lawyer fast. But with Apollo has missing, she's a shoe-in to become an inmate for sure. And a series of disappearances and murders only has one thing linking them all - Phoenix Wright himself.
1. Turnabout Disappearance

1 - Turnabout Disappearance

A magician, cloaked in yellow, stood in front of the fire, his eyes gleaming in the light. The walls were covered in old posters, with big writing on them that said "Troupe Gramarye". On all of them, there were 2 men - 1 dressed in yellow robes, with long hair that reached the end of his waist; 1 dressed in an almost identical robe, except in a fiery red, with much shorter hair, tanned skin and a bushy mustache. There was also a woman in the middle of them, wearing an identical blue cloak and a black dress, with her hair parted into 2 loose ponytails. The mysterious man, bearing much resemblance to the yellow-robed "Gramarye", walked over towards a shelf and picked up a thin, gold object - a gun. A gun that had been used in an old magic act; A gun that had taken the life of his true love; A gun that almost had him imprisoned. And it was about to commit yet another, life-threatening deed.

Footsteps sounded from behind him. The man turned to see who it was.

But fate had other plans that dreary night...

* * *

><p>"Trucy?"<p>

Phoenix Wright shook his head, looking into the eyes of his adoptive daughter, Trucy Wright. Just the day before, she had been put on trial for the murder of her deceased biological father's best friend and love rival, none other than the famous magician, Valant Gramarye. Of course, Phoenix didn't believe one bit that Trucy had killed Valant - even though she had the right to bear a grudge against him for what he got her father into, she still thought of Valant as family, referring to him as "Uncle Valant". On the day the news broke out that he had been killed, Trucy had gone almost as quiet as she had when she found out her father had died, but now that Phoenix thought about it-

Could her being quiet be a sign of her guilty conscience? It was entirely possible, but there was no way Trucy could have killed Valant. It just wasn't possible.

That was what Phoenix kept telling himself, anyway.

"I didn't do it!" Trucy shouted urgently, fighting away the tears that rolled so tragically down her cheeks. "Please... Daddy! Y-you have to believe me! You've gotta defend me!"

"I wish I could..." Phoenix sighed, "but I no longer have my badge. Usually, anyone can defend, just that having a lawyer improves circumstances. But not in my case - not once you lose your badge."

"W-what about Polly?" She stuttered, "Apollo can defend me!"

Phoenix sighed again. "Not likely."

He pulled a poster from his pocket. It had been stapled to a tree not too long ago. A picture of Apollo Justice, a rookie defense lawyer, was printed in rain-stained ink.

Under a big, bold font that read "Missing Person".

"Apollo's gone missing... we didn't get so much as a note to tell us where he might have gone - and all his things are still at home."

"Y-you don't think-?" Trucy gasped.

"That he's been kidnapped? Under most circumstances, that isn't what I would've concluded. But yes, that's exactly what I think. Even all the detectives at the precinct think so. There isn't a soul who knows who doesn't think he was kidnapped."

"But Apollo's-! He's like my brother! You and him... you're the closest thing to family I have now Uncle Valant's gone." She looked down at her gloves, fiddling with them nervously.

"It's okay, Trucy. I'm helping out with the investigating, and we've got detectives scattered across the city looking for him. You just worry about your trial tomorrow, okay?"

"O-okay..."

"Excuse me, Sir..." An officer in the famous blue and black uniform came through the door from Trucy's side of the glass. "Visiting hours for Miss Wright are over. We need her for questioning."

"Of course." Phoenix looked at his watch. They'd been talking, or more like sitting quietly looking at each other for the most part, for almost an hour. "I'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

Trucy nodded, fighting back the sadness she felt. She didn't want Phoenix to leave - he was all she had. Plus, she had to get more information about Apollo - had he really gone missing for good? Was he really kidnapped? Was he going to be alright? Questions, like tornadoes, spun through her head and worst-case scenarios filled her mind in answer to them.

But Phoenix was right - She was going to have to worry about her trial the next day, and worrying about two things at once wasn't going to help, so she decided for the moment, although it pained her to forget about Apollo so suddenly, to figure out what she was going to do for tomorrow. Without a defense attorney, without Apollo - but it wasn't like she could change the circumstances. But then again, Apollo, wherever he was, would want her to focus on her trial, right?

The trial was all she could think about as the police interrogated her. Question after question came at her - where was she on the night of the crime? What was she wearing? When was the last time she saw Valant? And just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore...

What happened to her parents?

Trucy became stiff. "P-Phoenix Wright is my Daddy. H-he's one of my parents! N-nothing happened a-at all..." she stuttered, trying to force her mind away from the inevitable. She didn't like to talk about her real parents.

"Phoenix Wright is your adoptive father. It says here on this record." The officer showed the document to Trucy. It was, taken from her file, a record of her full name, date of birth, her birth parents, and also her adoptive parent - Phoenix Wright. "So, Trucy _Enigmar _- what happened to Shadi and Thalassa?"

"I-I have the r-right to remain silent to u-unrelated questions!" She stuttered, trying to hold her head high as best as she could. The officer however just smirked.

"But it is completely related. See, Valant and your parents were very close - and it gives you a motive for the murder."

"What motive would I have to kill Uncle Valant?" Trucy gasped, thinking about it hard. Even she had no idea, but she was sure the police officer did. Trucy didn't know a lot about her mother's death - she was too young at the time. She only knew about her Grandpa Magnifi's death because of the trial. But what about her father's death? Valant wasn't linked to that at all! So what was the police officer talking about?

"Well, it was never fully proved, as Magnifi never took it to court... But, either your father or another person killed your mother, Thalassa. I assume you can figure out the other person?"

"Either Daddy or... Uncle Valant?" She stared at the police officer as if he was mental, but he nodded calmly, and then stared back into Trucy's eyes with a cocky smile plastered across his face.

"Precisely. And on the off-chance Valant killed your mother, along with trying to frame you're father at the trial seven years ago... Well, that just gives you all the more of a solid motive, don't you agree?"

This man was full of himself. He had a perfect argument for what could have happened, like a prosecutor. And no matter what, Trucy couldn't think of anything to say that could argue against any of his points. Now that she thought about it...

What if she did kill Valant?


	2. Turnabout Links

2 Turnabout Links

_ "It seems a series of murders and disappearances has been spreading across the city recently. Just last week, a man named Apollo Justice was reported to have been missing, along with 2 other people, both of which were murdered. They were-"_

Miles Edgeworth turned off the radio. He already knew about the past 2 people who had been murdered - why did he need to remind himself he hadn't progressed at all in any of the investigations? He turned his attention to Detective Gumshoe, who was stood just steps away from Miles.

"So, Gumshoe - have you discovered anything relating to the victim in question?" Miles Edgeworth asked, as he entered the precinct that evening. He was prepared to prosecute for the victim as soon as possible, and so he took the chance to help the investigation, much to Gumshoe's disappointment. It seemed that whenever Miles and Detective Gumshoe worked together, it resulted in Gumshoe's pay being cut.

"It kinda seems this one belongs with the other 2 cases we've been working on, sir!" Gumshoe half-shouted a little too energetically. Although he was a homicide detective, if this case really was connected to the other 2, it was more than likely to end up like the last 2.

3 murders and disappearances had occurred in the past month, all linked together by one crucial point - each one had a very strong connection to Phoenix Wright.

The first murder didn't seem connected when they first started looking into it - Dexter Flamel, a 33-year-old man who had been strangled to death. He appeared to look very thuggish, so it was no surprise he would have enemies; the only surprise was who had the guts and strength to strangle a man like that? It took some looking into to find a connection between Dexter and Phoenix, but what they did find made it crystal clear they'd known each other for a long while.

Dexter used to bully Phoenix in nursery. Back before Miles and Phoenix met, going to grade school together and becoming friends, there was someone Phoenix used to hate more than any other kid - of course, Dexter Flamel. It appeared that, although it went unnoticed for a while, Dexter was constantly ruining everything Phoenix tried to do. They even used to live down the same street, and for years Dexter teased Phoenix about anything and everything. He was the cruelest boy Phoenix had ever met - which gave Phoenix the perfect motive.

But what kind of former lawyer went around killing people? Miles wasn't about to suspect Phoenix of anything, least of all murder. He'd helped Miles so many years ago, and he wasn't about to throw their friendship away by falsely accusing him of murder.

"So, what about that Valant guy that got killed? Is he related to this, sir?" Gumshoe asked. _He probably enjoys getting a lot of cases_, Miles thought to himself, _but why's he so excited over people dying? _But then again, Miles did always cut his pay - he probably needed the money.

"We thought that could be related at first, too, but that new police officer thought up his big theory about how Miss Wright killed him, and there was no motive for killing the others - and it's already been established they were done by the same person." Miles looked at the report over and over, along with the clues they had found the previous day. "Go back to the Wright house and look over Mr. Justice's room one last time."

"O-of course, Mr. Edgeworth, sir!" Detective Gumshoe shouted, and ran out of the precinct. He was acting extremely odd, that was for sure. But Miles didn't think much of it - he had a persons life at hand, and he needed to find Apollo so that he could do some prosecuting!

_It was cold. I didn't understand why I had to meet this person at such a stupid hour. I looked at my watch - 2:30AM. What was the point of this anyway? _Whatever this person wanted me for, it better be good, _I thought to myself as I paced up and down the street, trying my best to keep warm._

_ Earlier that day I had received a letter in the post, from an unknown person. It had read:_

To Mr Apollo Justice,

There is something we need to discuss. Come outside the People Park at half 2 tomorrow morning - that's 2:30AM. If you do not, both of those "Wrights" you live with will be killed, and if anything I'm sure that won't look too good for you. Of course, you can try to ignore this all you want, but sooner or later somebody has to pay the price.

Hopefully I'll see you soon.

_ The person hadn't signed it. That had been pretty suspicious, to say the least. But it was Trucy and Mr. Wright's lives at stake here - I couldn't just ignore it. So that was why I was standing outside at 2:30 in the morning, waiting for someone who was probably going to harm me or the Wrights anyway. But it was better than to not at least try and save them. Anything was better than being the reason they would die._

_ I heard footsteps behind me, and someone speaking in a low, hushed voice. "Hello, Mr. Justice. Whatever you do, don't turn around." I obeyed the voice. It was best in this situation to catch someone like this off-guard. "Good. Now tell me everything you know about the Wrights..."_

_ "Well..." I started. I had one shot at this - I had to make it count. I pulled my knee up, and kicked as hard as I could behind me. I managed to kick the mystery person in the shins, and I started to run._

_ I wasn't fast enough._

_ I felt a blunt, piercing pain to my head, and everything went black..._


	3. The Forgotten Turnabout

3 The Forgotten Turnabout

"When was the last time you saw her?"

A police man was stood in the center of the Kurain Village, next to a huge, traditional japanese-style manor. Home to the Kurain Channeling Technique, a technique that only people who were occult fanatics really knew about, but to those who did it was extremely well-known. It consisted of letting a dead person's spirit take over the channeler's body, and in doing so affecting the channeler's physical appearance along with who they were. The spirit of the channeler would leave their body, and, although no one knew how it happened, they didn't even have dreams while this was happening - it was as if they were the dead spirit, not the person they were channeling.

The police had been coveting Kurain for the past week. There had been a recent suspected "kidnapping", although it appeared to be more of a runaway - it didn't take much investigating to find the note left. But it didn't seem right at all. Pearl Fey just wasn't the sort of girl to go running away from home. She hadn't even ever left Kurain Village until she was 8. It seemed incredibly unnatural that all of a sudden she would run off. But of course, the note had been sent through forensics - it was definitely Pearl Fey who wrote it. Which meant either she really had run away...

or she was being blackmailed.

"W-well, she was with me that day, before the note appeared." A black-haired young woman stood in front of the entrance to Fey Manor, being questioned by one of the police officers. She had her hair in a top-knot, and her eyes were filled with tears. Maya Fey. "W-we'd gone to get burgers, like we used to do with-" Maya stopped herself. _He_ had left them. _He_ had a kid now. She didn't know the details, but she did know how kids were made, and she felt extremely jealous of whoever the lucky woman was. "...yeah."

Seven years. Seven long years of waiting, hoping for some explanation, wishing he would come back. But it was over. He _never cared about us through out those years. _She thought to herself. He _never will care._

Phoenix Wright hadn't told Maya anything about his new child. She had been training at the time of Shadi Enigmar's trial and didn't manage to make it to help Phoenix. She had gotten a phone call from him about an hour after the trial had ended. He hadn't told her much about the child, just that he was a father and needed to do this on his own. He had told her he'd lost his badge. He had told her not to come back.

So she never did.

She would've liked to meet his kid, at least. Maybe if she had, she wouldn't be so angry at Phoenix. Maybe she could help. It wouldn't be ideal - she was still insanely jealous of the mother - but it might work out. Still, she didn't remember Phoenix ever seeing anyone, but she figured she didn't have a leash on his social life, and didn't know everything about him or everything he did. Maybe it had been during the 2 month separation, 7 years ago - just months before Phoenix's final trial - that they had started dating. That was probably it. Phoenix didn't need her anymore. It was time to move on.

"Okay. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" The policeman asked, bringing Maya back from her reminiscing.

"Not a clue. I'm sorry - She never even left the village until she was 8. She always preferred it here even when she'd been out and seen other places. My aunt always encouraged it."

Morgan Fey. She was now in prison for being behind several crimes, all of which, if they had succeeded, would've ended in Pearl becoming the next master of the Kurain Channelling Technique. Of course, none of them succeeded, as Maya was now the Master. But it seemed Pearl was set to become the master after Maya - she hadn't had feelings for any man ever.

Except for Phoenix Wright.

The policeman sighed. "Well, if that's all you know... I'll come back for questions if we find any clues, so I ask you kindly to stay within the village."

Maya nodded. "Of course. I don't feel like leaving anyway."

It was true. Leaving might mean bumping into Phoenix and his family - she just wasn't up for that. It brought back too many good memories, too much regret. If only she'd realized sooner... But what was the point in thinking that now?

As the policeman turned to investigate around the village, Maya walked back into the manor. She put in an old recording of an episode of Steel Samurai, and laid herself down on the sofa, remembering the days when her and Phoenix used to watch it together.

_The sweet taste of popcorn hits my tongue, as I continually stuff pieces of it into my mouth and chew madly. The Steel Samurai is about to start what was being classed as his final showdown against the Evil Magistrate, but everyone knows it's all for commercial reasons. They said it every time on the adverts - "Tune in next week to watch the final showdown between the Steel Samurai vs the Evil Magistrate". But it got everyone to watch it, and each battle was more exciting than the last. So it worked, even if it was all lies._

_"Hey, Nick, do you think you could chew like a little bit quieter?" I look over at him, puppy-dog eyes at the ready, and a flicker of a smile flashes across his face. But it quickly changes to a surprised, insulted expression._

_"I'm not eating any popcorn - that's you!" He insists. But I know he's laughing on the inside. He's just that kind of guy._

_"Oh. Well, never mind then!" I smile, and return to watch, as the Evil Magistrate prepares to charge his trademark sword straight into the Steel Samurai._

_I watch in anticipation as the Samurai dodges this attack, and charges back with his spear. The battle seems never ending, each man refusing to give in. It leaves me hooked, waiting for one of them to slip up, and at last it comes! The Evil Magistrate trips up, and the Samurai quickly plunges the spear through his back. It doesn't go in far, but the Magistrate is wounded, and, like every kids TV villain, he crawls off, surrendering. The Steel Samurai takes his victory pose, and the credits begin to roll. It may not have ended as well as it started, but it was definitely an awesome episode._

_"Hey, what time is it, Nick?" I ask him, yawning. I feel so tired, it's as if I haven't slept for days, but I know I have. But there's no reply. I turn around to see Phoenix, sprawled across the sofa, fast asleep. I giggle to myself quietly - he looks so funny when he's sleeping. I move over carefully, not wanting to wake him, and check his watch. It's only 9:30PM! How could Nick fall asleep watching something so gripping at such an early time? But then I remember that he's been working on a tough case, and has been pulling all-nighters non-stop, checking up on the court record and constantly revising points he could bring up in the trial. I feel bad for making him watch TV with me, but not bad enough to stop myself falling asleep on the spot._

Phoenix Wright had been investigating too much the past month. Trucy's case, Apollo's disappearance - if only he could just combine the two. It would make it so much easier, because if they were connected then one clue could be used for both cases. And that's when the thought hit him.

What if all these disappearances, murders and occurrences _were _linked? Everyone involved that they knew of so far had one special link - they all knew Phoenix. Which didn't put him in a very good spot, to say the least.

It was days like this that made him wish he'd never told Maya not to come back. But he couldn't put her under all his pressure, along with her's on being the new master of Kurain. After all Maya had done for him, it wouldn't be right. Taking away the one thing she'd literally almost died for so many times - it would be too cruel. If he really cared about Maya's feelings, he'd leave it at "don't bother coming back". That must have hurt her enough as it was, let alone if he went off and asked her to come back now that she was the real master. It would kill her to see him again just for a case, he was sure. It wasn't worth hurting her and sending her away again. It wasn't right to toy with her feelings like that.

If he really loved her, he'd let her live her life.

From the very beginning, he'd loved Maya Fey. She was beautiful, fun to be around, kind, loyal, helpful, everything Phoenix could ask for. Which was exactly why he couldn't bear to see her again. On top of hurting Maya, it would hurt him, too. He could never feel anything but regret towards how he'd left her, but it was for the best. She could be the Kurain Master, free of worry, and he could be the piano-playing, gambling father, who secretly hid all his worries to support his daughter and her worries and problems. Trucy was who mattered now. Trucy, Apollo and all the other victims of the chain of occurrences. He continued to look through the list of missing and dead people he'd found - and to his shock, saw Pearl Fey in the usual blocked capitals, however it stood out more than the rest. To the right of this, it said "Missing person/Runaway".

_Pearls? What made you run away?_


	4. Turnabout Returns Part 1

4 Turnabout Returns - Part 1

A scent of coffee filled the defendant lobby that day as Trucy made her way to her trial. Of course, as with most cases, this was just the first, and anything could come of the case no matter what happened today - as long as it didn't break the "Double Jeopardy" rule - but it still made her feel nervous, walking in as the defendant instead of the defense's assistant. She took a deep breath and opened the door to the lobby. It was a strange, bitter smell - a smell her father had tried to describe so many times in stories about the days when he was a lawyer. So, of course, she knew exactly who the defense was going to be today.

"Ah, you must be Miss Wright." A man in a red shirt, a striped grey vest, stunning white hair and a strange mask walked over to her, a menacing smile on his face. Trucy nodded in reply. She knew exactly who this man was.

Diego Armando. Also known, in his prosecutor (or "second") life, as Godot.

But one question still remained - If he was a prosecutor now, how come he was the defense today?

"Yeah. You're Diego Armando, right?" She asked nervously, hoping she wasn't wrong - that would be embarrassing. Thankfully, however, he nodded, but his smile refused to fade, and it made Trucy feel quite uncomfortable. However, she continued, "But aren't you a prosecutor? You're defending me today, right?"

"I used to be a prosecutor, at the start of my second life. However I was only ever a prosecutor to challenge your father, and make him pay for letting..." He went quiet for a second, then suddenly shook his head and carried on. "Well, anyway, after Mr. Trite's badge was taken off him, and the metaphorical cat was out of the bag, there was no reason for me to continue as Godot - I went back to Diego. However, my hair and sight are permanent. Dyeing hair is just a facade. I'm sick of facades." Even saying that, he continued to smile. He looked quite obnoxious, and evil at the same time.

Diego looked at him watch, and looked back to Trucy. "Time to go in. Are you ready?" The smile never failed to stay as wide and unnerving as ever, as he looked at her through his strange metal mask. She nodded, too nervous to even try to stutter a reply, and she followed him into the court room, taking her place behind the defendant stand. Seeing the court from this angle was strange - almost surreal, given she'd always been on the defense stand, not the defendant's.

The prosecutor was a woman who looked to be in her mid-20s, probably only a few years older than Apollo, and was wearing a black and white dress with puffy sleeves and a few blue decorations. She looked very snotty, and had a cruel scowl similar to a prosecutor Phoenix had once talked about. She was also holding a whip, and looked quite malicious.

Once everyone was seated, the Judge began, "We are here today for the trial of... Trucy Wright?"

He turned to look at her, sat in the defendant chair, a sad look in his eyes, like everyone else had done. "Phoenix Wright's daughter Trucy Wright?"

She nodded nervously, and the prosecutor cracked her whip on the prosecution stand, laughing, but it was cold and humorless. "That fool had a daughter? Well, then, I'd say it's pretty easy to wrap this up. She's obviously guilty, just look at how that fool lost his badge. He brought her up foolishly, therefore she must be a fool, too."

Trucy began to feel very angry at this remark. Her fists clenched, and her jaw tightened, but she managed to hold herself back. There was no point in starting an argument, it would only serve to put her in a worse situation than she was already in. So she pulled herself together and waited for the Judge to start the trial.

"Y-yes, well, anyway... How is the prosecution, Miss Von Karma?"

Franziska Von Karma. Trucy had heard of her before. She was a child prodigy, and had even become a prosecutor at the young age of 13. She was cruel, and a hard rival to beat, just like her father, but outside of the court she wasn't that bad a person. According to Phoenix, she still had her snobbish scowl and attitude, but she was also nicer when he wasn't shouting, "Objection!" at her from across the court room.

Franziska sighed and cracked her whip. "The prosecution is ready, Your Honor."

"A-And the defense?"

The Judge turned to Diego, who was smirking as always, coffee in one hand. He sipped it, and replied, "The defense is as ready as my next cup of coffee - and my limit of 17 mugs hasn't increased, so why don't we start?"

The Judge nodded, and asked for my testimony on what I was doing the night of the crime. I took a deep breath, and began...

"Well, it seems we've only been able to prove one thing today - finding the guilty party of this case will lead to finding the culprit behind the chain of murders and disappearances that have happened lately. We will resume this case in a few days, but for now - Court is adjourned."

Trucy stood out in the defendant lobby, waiting for the police to take her back to the detention center. She was being kept an eye on by Diego, who still had his unnerving smirk plastered on his face - it seemed to be drawn on in permanent marker, it was ever present across his face. Trucy decided to break the awkward silence.

"I didn't hear anything about the "chain of disappearances and murders" before today. What was that all about, anyway?" She asked, determined to find some information out before she was locked back in her cell.

"You see, there's been a lot of murders and disappearances happening lately, surrounding your father and people he knew. First, a kid he grew up with was brutally murdered - no one even looked into a link with Mr Trite at this point. But then a girl went missing - a girl from Kurain Village. Pearl Fey. But see, I met her. And Pearl isn't the kind of girl to just up and run away. She might run off sometimes, but never properly run away. It didn't fit, so they looked into it. Her sister was your father's assistant. Then, the final clue - Apollo Justice. You've met him. Your father pretty much mentored him after Kristoph Gavin was jailed for killing... Well, you know already. So that's it. The only reason people didn't connect this case with the others is because of you. You had a motive for this murder only. The police don't really search for the honest truth - they search for loopholes.

"And you were the perfect loophole."


	5. Turnabout Betrayal

5 Turnabout Betrayal- - _

To run away from whoever is chasing me is my natural instinct as a human. However, I don't have a clue what is going on. Not entirely. Just that there is someone behind me - someone I don't want to catch up. Someone dangerous. Turning every corner with little to no hesitation, dodging each lamppost, I make my way quickly home. It isn't her, is it?

No, it can't be. I quickly toss the idea out of my head. She wasn't going to appear any time soon. At least that's what I want to believe. But the heavy breathing I hear is masculine - there's no way that's her. She wouldn't hurt me anyway, so it can't be her. But who is it? Crossing the bridge, I trip on a broken board. My head bangs hard against another of the boards on the bridge. All I see is red - on my hands, on the board, even in the darkness it's still glowing red. However not for long. The red soon blends with the night sky, and everything goes black...

_ *

A sharp slapping sound echoed quietly in the room.

Next a girl's whimper, right on cue it seemed. However, with a scarf tied round her mouth to muffle any sound, it barely even made it across the room. However one woman heard it. One woman who wished she never crossed the other person in the room, who was anything but themselves today.

"Please, stop! This isn't her fault, why take it out on her?" The woman cried out. It was out of character for her, but under circumstances it was perfectly natural.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you went and agreed to be a part of this just for your own protection. You weren't even going to help us - you were going to set the police on us as soon as the plan was finished and tell them we'd broken you out." Another voice growled back. It was a strange sound - a mix of both a man and woman-like voice. It was unnatural, more like something computer generated than a real persons voice.

"I-I wasn't going to! I swear! Don't hurt her again!" Tears ran down the woman's cheeks. Never before had she cried such true tears in front of another person. She was a cold woman - her usual tears were faked.

But the mystery person seemed to ignore her. Another sharp slapping sound rang out, and another muffled whimper filled the woman's ears as much as tears filled her eyes.

*

"So then, Mr Diego Armando, do you have any ideas as to who the real perpetrator was, if not Miss Trucy Wright?"

Franziska Von Karma was cracking her whip on her hand softly, a cocky smile on her face. I've got him this time, she thought. There's no way this fool of a man can think up another culprit.

But Diego Armando wasn't one to give up so easily. He returned her smile with one even more smug and arrogant. "Obviously. But first, I think we need to introduce another set of people to this case. Mind, Von Karma?"

"O-of course not. Although this will probably end up being a foolish waste of time." She became more nervous at that point, staring at him skeptically. Surely there couldn't be anyone else. Could there?

He opened the drawer next to where he was sitting, and pulled out an envelope. He slid it across the table to where Franziska was, and gestured for her to open it. She did as told, but cautiously, suspicious of what could be in there. A few documents came out in her hand, and she quickly flicked through each one.

Thalassa Gramarye; Lamiroir; A documentation on "Troupe Gramarye"; and lastly, a piece of scrap paper with scruffy writing across it, which read "The Mystery Mr Justice".

"The first two are the same person - I'm just using her as reference for my little bit of research. The last one is the most important."

"Mr Justice? Mr Apollo Justice? The man who went missing? How is that fool a mystery?" She looked at him as if he was mad, but Armando was still smiling.

"Close, but no cigar, Von Karma. Actually, it's his father. The man no one seems to know anything about..." He paused for a second, trying to create a dramatic effect. Franziska was about to break the silence herself with a "And how are we going to track down him? You do come up with some foolish ideas, Mr Diego Armando", when he broke it himself.

"Up until now, that was. You see, there was once an old duo of magicians called the Miracales. They went round small villages and towns, showing off their tricks. They were brothers - Steven and Frank Justice. Or, more commonly known as Stephan and Firenze Miracale. One day, during their tours, they crossed paths with the legendary Troupe Gramarye. Steven and Thalassa instantly hit it off, and in a year she had gone off and married him.

"However, things went badly soon after. Steven went mad. Not angry mad, literally crazy. He started killing people on the fly, and the newspapers were filled with articles on the man-slaughters. He had a condition. He'd gone insane within a month of marrying Thalassa, however the symptoms had started long before. The police tried to stop him, but it was too difficult. They tried to taser him, to paralyze him just long enough to handcuff him. But see, they had to use a really strong one. The shock of it and the insanity added up, and it killed him instantly."

"What kind of fool would bring up such a foolish story? The man is dead, Mr Diego Armando. Dead people don't just come back, despite the foolish tales you might foolishly spin."

Franziska rolled her eyes at him and whipped him, but he didn't even flinch.

"I've seen enough to argue against that, Von Karma. Spirit channeling is perfectly possible. I'm sure you're aware of the case concerning Misty Fey's death, correct? After all, you did prosecute for one of the trials."

"Why would this man want to kill Mr Valant Gramarye?" Franziska didn't understand it at all. It didn't seem like there was any motive.

"Are you not aware of the supposed murder of Thalassa Gramarye?"

Franziska reluctantly shook her head. She didn't like to admit it, but Armando seemed to know a lot more about the case than she did.

"2 supposed murderers. Zak and Valant Gramarye. No one found out who "killed" her really - it took some digging around just to find out what I did - but it was one of them. She's not dead, of course, she just suffered from amnesia and went blind, but that was as good as death for her, as no one found her for a while. She was assumed dead, and I'm guessing whenever he was channeled Steven heard news of the murder and went out to seek revenge. Of course, Zak's already dead, so Valant was the only one to go after. It all fits, doesn't it?"

"F-fair enough, but then who channeled him?"

"I've not yet come that far, but there's still time. I hope you know that I showed these to you for good reason. Try and think up some counter-arguments to these little pieces of evidence, will you, Von Karma? I hear you're a challenge to beat in court, so I won't be happy if you're too weak against one solid piece of evidence."

With that, he left the prosecutor's office, glad he'd been able to show off his latest piece of evidence - one that he was sure no one could argue against without Valant's ghost to testify himself.

*

"Another disappearance, sir!"

Gumshoe rushed over to Edgeworth, who was sitting in his office reading through previous reports.

"Well, actually, it was the first, but we missed it when we were linking all the cases!" Gumshoe was panting madly as he handed Miles the report and sat down on the nearest available chair. Whilst he was doing this, Miles carefully opened the envelope containing the report and gasped. _Gumshoe has actually found something worth looking at,_ he thought to himself as he read the name in the report.

Iris Hawthorne.


	6. Letter From The Turnabout

6 Letter From The Turnabout

**I'm really sorry for how late this is. Thanks to those of you who've stuck by me - I was just busy, and didn't have much time to write or upload. Enjoy~**

Trucy didn't understand it. _Me? A loophole?_ Why would the police use her like that? It didn't look like Trucy would be able to drop anything Godot had told her the other day so quickly. But thankfully, a distraction appeared. She was called out into the visitors room at the detention center, where a man with spiky black hair was standing on the other side of the glass.

"Daddy!" She cried out joyfully, glad to see him there for once. She hadn't seen him after the trial until now. She figured he'd been busy with Apollo's disappearance though, so she didn't mind.

"Hey, Trucy!" He smiled at her. Something wasn't right. She took a double-take.

First off, he looked like he'd shaved, which was a change from his usual scruffy stubbled chin. But that was only one of the minor changes Trucy had noticed.

He was also wearing a suit.

His old blue suit, the one she remembered only ever seeing him wear once - on the day he defended her father, Shadi Enigmar.

Which made her quite curious as to why he was visiting that day.

"Godot's keeping me updated on your trial. I managed to contact him shortly before your trial. Seems he was free."

"And? What did he say? Has he figured out who did it yet?" She looked up at Phoenix, her eyes shining with hope.

"He has his suspicions. But there's one thing they lack. He has no solid evidence to support his claims."

Trucy's heart dropped, low into her stomach. If Godot had no proof to back up his theory, it was as good as not having a theory at all.

"However, it's a tightly-knit theory. One that can link this with all the other disappearances and murders. If he can find just 1 piece of solid evidence, he'll have the judge's support in no time."

"So what's his theory?" She asked, hoping maybe she had some idea as to where Godot might find that evidence. The look on Phoenix's face told her not to be so hopeful.

"Nothing possible. To the Judge, at least. Don't think too much about it. You'll learn soon enough if he manages to find any evidence." He smiled at her reassuringly, and then quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, that's not why I came here. I wanted to keep you updated on our search for Apollo. It seems we found some sort of lead."

"Really?" She piped up, her eyes gleaming once more. But this time, not with hope - with joy.

"We found this at the agency." He placed a photo-copied version of a note. "It seems it was printed. To avoid handwriting analysis, possibly. We can analyze the ink, but we'll only know what kind of ink was used. But it's still a vital clue."

The note read:

_To Mr Apollo Justice,_

_ There is something we need to discuss. Come outside the People Park at half 2 tomorrow morning - that's 2:30AM. If you do not, both of those "Wrights" you live with will be killed, and if anything I'm sure that won't look too good for you. Of course, you can try to ignore this all you want, but sooner or later somebody has to pay the price._

_ Hopefully I'll see you soon._

Trucy had to read it a few times to let it all sink in. If they could track down who's printer this was, then chances were they could find Apollo. Or, at the very least, find out what happened to him.

She dared not think about the fact that he might have been killed. No, he couldn't be dead. He had to be living. There was no way. She tried to convince herself of that.

"Do you have any leads?" She asked hopefully. Any suspicious person would help bring them even just slightly closer. She was sure.

Phoenix's face dropped a little. "None. If we assume this case fits in to the rest, including your case, then it completely blanks out Godot's theory. Which would take us back to step one..."

"Are you sure? Remember that one case where that man killed the wrong person at that circus you told me about? What if it was like that?"

"The note asks for a Mr Apollo Justice. There's no mistake."


	7. Threats From The Turnabout

7 Threats From The Turnabout

The sight that lay before Edgeworth was one every police officer hoped they never had the chance to see. The entire glass wall in the Visitors' Room was completely smashed, despite it being made to endure even the strongest hit. But it seemed something had managed to break it - and leave a note behind, to boot.

On the Offenders' chair, Trucy had been replaced with a scrap of quickly-torn-out paper.

Edgeworth picked it up and read it over a few times, hardly believing someone could have broken in, even after all the security regulations that had been met to secure any offender and keep them from getting out.

The note read:

_ Dear Mr Edgeworth,_

_ By now you should have figured out what exactly my pattern is - and hopefully that all of these murders and disappearances are connected in some way. I am the murderer you are seeking. However, it is not wise to inform any other person of this matter - I have silenced your police force with threats of their own, however you are the one I am most intent on keeping quiet. You see, you are a prosecutor. It would be very useful for you to get Trucy Wright convicted of this murder. Help von Karma._

_ Don't even think about helping Godot and submitting this as evidence to the court. For one, there is no way of connecting me with it, and for another it has been printed - no one would believe it is real._

_ I hope for your sake you make your decisions wisely,_

_ SJM._

SJM... Whose initials could they be?

"Detective Gumshoe!"

Edgeworth rushed into the Precinct, clutching the letter tightly through his pocket to be extra-sure it wouldn't slip out. He didn't want anyone to see the letter - who knows who was lurking in the shadows, watching him? But he wanted to run a check on the initials, all the same. This person didn't seem new to criminal action. If there was even a chance he was known by the police, he needed to check up on it.

"Give me the keys to the Records Room. I need to run a check on something."

"O-of course, Sir!" Gumshoe shouted back, rummaging through his pockets. "Here they are, but uh-" he lowered his voice to a whisper and continued, "If this is about those letters we've all been receiving, we already checked. There's no living person with the initials SJM in those files."

"Well then I guess we'll have to consider the dead, too." Edgeworth replied calmly.

The shabby detective's eyes widened, staring at Edgeworth like the last of a species.

"Are you insane, pal? That's crazy, especially in a court of law!"

"Don't you remember the case surrounding Misty Fey's death? She was killed by Dahlia Hawthorne - a woman who had been executed a month before. So don't tell me I'm crazy."

Edgeworth rushed into the Records Room, delving through criminal after criminal after criminal, but like Gumshoe had said there wasn't a living person alive with the initials SJM, neither a criminal that could in anyway be connected with the case.

"What a waste of time..." he mumbled to himself, just as he dropped the last record back into the corresponding drawer. Steven Justice/Miracle's.

_"Stop where you are! You're coming with us, on charge of assault."_

_ "Ha!" I stop, spitting at the foot of the police officer. _Like hell am I coming with him_. "Look at you all. The LA Police Department, who can't even arrest someone without a huge trial - and most of the time the person you arrest is proven innocent, aren't they? You all make me sick."_

_ "Whatever your feelings are towards us, we don't need to know them. Just stop where you are and no one gets hurt."_

_ I lift up the knife I've been carrying around with me all this time. It's stained slightly red with blood, but most of it was wiped off onto my magician's cloak now. "Well, back at you, Policey-boy."_

_"Drop the weapon!" The police officer closest to me raises his taser to my head. I just laugh._

_ "What are you gonna do?"_

_ "Don't do it unless he comes near you with the knife, Dustin!" One of the police officers in the back shouts._

_ "Yeah, Prince, he's just bluffing. We use that for emergency's only!"_

_ "Dustin Prince..." I run my tongue across the top row of my teeth, smiling at him cruelly. "You aren't a pussy, are you? You'll only knock me out with that, after all. Just enough to cuff me and get me to jail."_

_ "Don't take him up on it. He's mentally unstable, a shot will kill him!" Another officer shouts._

_ He doesn't listen to them. He pulls the trigger, and a surge of electricity courses through my body. The last thing I hear is Dustin, mumbling something..._

_ "I think I need to find myself a lawyer."_

_ And then..._

_ Complete darkness._


	8. Turnabout Ransom

8 Turnabout Ransom

**Thank you for all the reviews so far! You're all making me feel really big headed about this fanfiction, but in a good way. :D**

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><p>Phoenix Wright was sat at the Precinct, waiting for news on Trucy's kidnap. He'd had the only two people he'd really been able to call his family after so long taken away from him. Whoever this murdererkidnapper was, he was going to kick their ass once he was arrested, for not only harming people important in his life, but also for kidnapping his one shining light. When everything was grey for him, Trucy just came in and made it all somewhat bearable. And now someone had come in and taken her away from him.

He couldn't stand that more than anything.

Merely five minutes ago, he'd gotten a call from an old friend - Miles Edgeworth, no less. He had been surprised to hear that voice, after 7 years. But they didn't have time to catch up on each other's lives, as Edgeworth had been telling him something about disappearances and kidnappings and that Trucy had been the next victim - but this time.

"Edgeworth, how could you let this happen?" Phoenix had screamed down the phone to him. "Have you any way of contacting the kidnapper? Tell him I'll give him anything for her to be spared. Anything!"

"Wright, calm down, she's not getting killed. He just wants me to help von Karma get her a guilty verdict in court."

"What?" He growled. "My daughter will not be put in jail for a crime I know she didn't commit."

"You did say anything, Wright-"

"Find a way to contact him, and get him to negotiate with me."

"See, I can't exactly tell him that..." Edgeworth winced. There was a pause, and then he continued. "If he finds out he might kill her, right on the spot."

"Might?"

"He didn't specify. Anyway, just get over here!"

And then Edgeworth had hung up. The beep rang through Phoenix's ears, and he hesitated a moment, before hopping on to Apollo's bike (the only vehicle nearby) and peddling as fast as he could towards the Precinct.

It didn't seem he'd be sitting doing nothing for long, however, as after 5 minutes of waiting he heard Edgeworth rushing around screaming, "Track down that last phone call!"

Edgeworth tapped him on the shoulder, and ushered for him to get up. "We just received a phone call from the kidnapper - seems he figured out I told you. Now get up, unless you want your daughter to be killed knowing you did nothing to save her?"

Phoenix quickly stood up and followed Edgeworth out to his car. He was wearing a headset, and shouting through it like a maniac. "I need those directions now, Gumshoe!"

Phoenix had faintly heard the Detective's reply muffled through the headset. It sounded something like, "Hang on, Mr Edgeworth, sir! I'm a Detective, but I ain't good at tracking down things through computers, okay, pal?"

"Well then work on it, or your pay will be by 99%. This is a matter of life or death, Gumshoe. Don't be the one to decide that!" He huffed as he revved the engine up.

"I-I got it, sir! I'm sending the directions over to your GPS now."

Quick as a flash, the screen of the GPS lit up, and the voice began to instruct Edgeworth which directions to go in.

_Please be okay, Trucy._

* * *

><p>The doors slammed as Miles and Phoenix hurried into the deserted-looking building. The first thing that began to make them curious was that the door wasn't locked - as soon as Edgeworth turned the handle it opened instantly. They proceeded more cautiously, entering edgily into the hallway. As soon as the door shut, giant bars clanged down in front of it, blocking their only exit.<p>

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr Prosecutor and the child-stealing piano player." A sinister voice echoed through the house. From a room just down the hall, a young woman with long, light-brown hair half done up appeared. She looked vaguely familiar, however so much older than when Phoenix had seen her last.

"Pearls? What are you doing here?" He asked, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. Surely that couldn't have been her voice?

However when she spoke, it appeared to be true. The voice she spoke with was the deep, menacing voice of a deranged man. "Oh, I'm not Pearl. I'm just your "son's" real father." He shouted furiously. "You act like his Dad but you've known him what, a year?"

"You're Mr Justice? But he's-!" Edgeworth was interrupted. Stephan Justice-Miracale. This was him?

"Dead? Tell me, who did you just mistake me for? What is it that makes her different from most people?"

"She can channel spirits..." Phoenix muttered to himself in disbelief. _This was how he was getting around? Using Pearls?_

"Hang on..." Edgeworth interjected, his face thoughtful. "Iris was the first one to disappear, and she has no spiritual powers. How do you explain that?"

"Oh, come now, Miles Edgeworth, I hope that isn't the best argument you've got?" He (or would it be she?) teased. "You'll have to wait until you put me on trial to figure that out. Of course, no jury would participate in something so pointless in trying to punish someone dead." It laughed. "Anyway, back to business. Mr Wright, you would give anything for your daughter? Prove it. And prove her guilty!"

"Daddy!" A shriek sounded from the room 'Pearl' had just exited.

"What have you done to her?" He shouted as he ran to the room. 'Pearl's' arm swiftly swung up and blocked the doorway, however.

"Not so fast. Speak of this to no one outside of those who already do; convince the jury to run the trial without her; and once you've got her a 'guilty', I'll give her back." It smirked.

_ How the hell are we supposed to go about that?_

**Believe it or not, this will have a clean answer to everything at the end. I have a habit of confusing the readers until the end. Hope you guys have enjoyed this new development, and thanks again for all the lovely reviews. ;)**_  
><em>


	9. Turnabout Persuasion

9 Turnabout Fraud

**Sorry - long time, no update. But I bring it you now, warts and all (especially the 'warts'). Enjoy, and maybe review? ;)**

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><p>"Well, I have to say this is quite... unusual. Making trials peculiar must run in the family."<p>

"I would like to ask what that fool is thinking myself. Foolishly asking for a trial to be run without the defendant present, and he's even got Scruffy and the rest of those fools in on it."

Convincing the Judge to run the case without Trucy was strenuous, to say the least. And it certainly raised some unwanted questions. The two lawyers and the Criminal Affairs Department had decided upon her having an illness and not being well enough to exit her cell. They'd even managed to persuade the Judge not to try and visit with a "highly contagious" warning. They wouldn't be able able to hold it up for long, but they devised a plan that might work around their situation.

Of course, it was highly life-threatening.

So while Diego and Franziska bantered back and forth over witness testimonies, Miles and Phoenix had sat in the court room thinking about nothing more than their plan. It was risky, but if it succeeded it would prove to be very effective. And that was all they had right now.

"Is the Prosecution ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"And the Defense?"

"Also ready, Your Honor."

"Your opening statement, if you will, Miss von Karma."

The crack of a whip sounded.

"The defendant here may appear to be innocent, however I assure you she is guilty. Only a fool would truly believe she is innocent - one glance at the facts at hand could tell you that. This trial is a foolish action on Mr Phoenix Wright's behalf, and I will prove it!"

Phoenix wasn't really paying attention enough to hear Franziska's criticism; he was giving one of the men in the jury a particularly odd glance. There was something about him that made him look so similar, but Phoenix couldn't put a finger on what.

Shaking it off, he returned to think about his plan. If it all went well, he could save his daughter from both the kidnapper and the guilty verdict.

All he had to do now was wait for the moment.

_I can feel myself losing and regaining consciousness rapidly. I know I don't stand a chance - yet I keep at it, fighting back, holding on. For just a little longer._

_ I can see a girl, a few years younger than myself, sat tied to a chair. The sight is familiar but means nothing to me. However I can't focus on that. I have to keep my body in control._

_ I screech. Channeling a spirit you don't want to channel is painful; how can someone be this powerful? It makes no sense. I'm the channeler. I'm in control here._

_ The voice inside my head tells me otherwise. 'You're nothing but a child, Fey. And you'll die one as long as my brother lives.'_

_ "At least I have more of a chance than you - you're so insane you begged to get tasered!" I shout back, inside my head._

_ How do I know that?_

_ I stop fighting for a second, before realizing my mind is beginning to blank out, and I snap back, trying to think and keep my body at the same time. It's a tough battle, but I will win!_

_ The girl is staring at me in confusion, but I'm not bothered. She can think what she likes for now - I'll explain it all to her later._

_ "You're weak, Justice. I can see all your memories - everything! You're a psycho, a murderer and you'll never be able to be anything else because you got yourself killed!"_

_ As I laugh in his face, I forget to fight back, and he takes over with extra force. As my mind goes blank my last thoughts are, "Not even stealing my body forever can save you now."_

The first part of the trial had finished, and Miles and Nick were preparing to leave when they heard a cracking sound and felt sharp pains in their backs.

"And where do you fools think you're going? You honestly aren't foolish enough fools to think you can just leave unnoticed, do you? Too embarrassed your trial's going down the foolish drain?"

Franziska von Karma. The perfect image of her father on the inside - regardless of how different they looked. Phoenix turned around to see the woman glaring and smiling cruelly.

"We can't tell you - but it will all become clear soon enough, okay?"

The two of them walked out toward the car park. Their strides were big - much bigger than Franziska's, and she couldn't run in a dress this short.

Before she had even reached the main door, the red mustang was driving swiftly away from her.

She stamped her foot down hard on the floor. "You fools!" She called after them, but it wasn't anywhere near as satisfying than saying it to their faces - and when they could actually hear it. She felt weak, standing there instead of beating them. But she had beating Diego Armando to look forward to - it wasn't Phoenix Wright or Miles Edgeworth but it was something.

Meanwhile, in the car, Miles and Phoenix didn't speak a word to each other. It was silent - they may have even heard the shouts. They didn't have time to talk, though. They needed to fix the plan in their heads and make arrangements. No radio played - it would only distract concentration. Miles and Phoenix didn't need any kind of distraction. This was important - a life-or-death situation.

But Edgeworth needed to ring someone before this could go ahead.

He really wished Phoenix had picked a better person, but there wasn't much choice. This had got to be the worst of them all, however.

"Is this Wendy Oldbag's retirement home?"

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><p><strong> You like? ;) Keep reviewing, I love reading them! And I hope you enjoyed reading so far, stay tuned. :)<strong>


	10. Turnabout Returns Part 2

10 Turnabout Returns Part 2

** Before reading this, I'd just like to give you a challenge for yourselves - from the title, who do you think I'm "resurrecting" from old characters? I'll give you a clue - they were old recurring characters in the Phoenix arc. ;)** **Anyway, with that challenge - enjoy this chapter~ ^^**

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><p>Thalassa took in a deep breath. She was worried. About Trucy, for starters. She didn't think Steven would really harm her, but she couldn't be too sure. He had murdered countless people before being shot by a police officer - Dustin Prince. The victim of a murder himself.<p>

Then of course she was worried about what she would see inside. Steven wasn't one to be subtle with his deeds. He had been a magician, after all.

This would be a death trap if Thalassa and Steven hadn't been married in the past. Phoenix Wright had told her she was the one most likely to come out unharmed. Anyone else would become a victim. But Steven wouldn't kill the woman he'd loved without good reason, would he?

She heard a quiet beeping coming from her watch. It was time. She knocked on the door of the deserted building and entered, calling out. "Hello? Anyone? I'm lost, do you think you could help me?"

This was Phoenix's idea - convincing Steven she'd just passed by. Her map had blown away, and she was now lost in the middle of nowhere she knew. She hoped Steven would believe this, no matter how far fetched it sounded that the one person to get themselves lost here would happen to be the one person who could drag Steven from the building.

The familiar voice replied, however it was odd - muffled underneath it was what sounded like a young woman's. She had been told he was being channeled by a young girl so he would resemble parts of her, but Thalassa never imagined he'd look like one.

"T-Thalassa? Thalassa Gramarye? Is that really you?" He ran up to her, cupping her face in his hands. "You're alright. It's been so long..."

"I know..." She nodded, trying to avoid making eye-contact so she could lie easier without getting caught out. "I've missed you so much. It's not been the same. Want to go for a walk out in the forest? Maybe catch up a little?"

Steven was overjoyed. He thought he'd lost Thalassa for good, but even the dead can have one last night of love. Ignoring his duty to watch over the hostages, he grabbed her hand and they began to walk. As Steven became more joyous, Thalassa became more nervous. She had to lead a man she'd once loved into a trap. But then, she couldn't really help him. He'd taken both her children hostage and killed a bunch of people. And when he'd got tasered, she actually felt relieved.

He was a bit of a burden really. He was always mad, but he'd been sane enough until he went around killing. She felt cruel admitting it, but having him there was like having to carry a heavy weight.

As they walked around the forest, they heard a rustling in a nearby bush. Thalassa acted frightened, but Steven reassured her. "Don't worry, nothing gets past Stephan Miracale."

But no one on earth would have been prepared for the duo that jumped out.

Will Powers and Wendy Oldbag. Though both odd-looking, they were also both strong fighters - Powers' muscles and the Oldbag's attitude proved it all.

Will knocked Steven lightly to the floor, but he didn't resist. He'd had experience with fighting and the like before, though, so they had to be cautious. So Wendy yanked out her own stun gun (labeled "von Karma" for some reason), used it on him and pinned him to the floor to check him over. Steven's spirit seemed to leave Pearl, but she was still unconscious.

"Looks like the whippersnapper's out cold. Boy, when I was a young girl, no one ever got knocked out that easily. Oh, no! People were tougher back-"

"Great story, Wendy, but we have to go..." Powers carried Pearl over his shoulder, pulling Oldbag along with them as she rambled on about something no one was actually listening to. Thalassa followed behind, nervous Steven might return. She knew he could. She knew it didn't take much...

So she decided to be quick, and not worry too much. They were limited to a small amount of time.

As they re-approached the old building, they noticed Phoenix and Miles had already walked in. Thalassa inhaled and then exhaled heavily - what would she see when she got in there? Both her children, dead across the floor? Never even knowing their real mother? Was that how the story was going to end?

She knew she had to enter, though. So she went in, trying to prepare for what she was about to see, when Will grabbed her back.

"Don't go in," He whispered to her. "That other one's still in there, right? Mr Wright and that Prosecutor need to give us the all-clear."

She nodded, glad she didn't have to rush to her children's fate, but also angry she had to postpone it. Couldn't she just get over with knowing?

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><p>"Well, well, well... Mr Wright, and Mr Edgeworth."<p>

They turned around, to see another man stood in the same place Pearl had been standing the last time they visited. This man was alive, however. Firenze Miracale - or Frank Justice.

"How nice of you to join me. My brother may be dead, but I'm still here. And now with his spirit out of the way, I have the all-clear to kill his son."

A menacing smile arose on his face. But Phoenix refused to believe anything he was trying to tell them. _He wouldn't really kill his nephew..._

_ Would he?_

"Oh, don't doubt me, Mr Wright." He continued, reading Phoenix's thoughts like a book. "I can convince that old fool you got his son killed, before killing Mr Edgeworth there. You have always hated each other, haven't you?"

It was true - from their work positions, it did seem as though Phoenix and Miles had hated each other. But they didn't. How could they? They'd been friends for less than a year in school, but it was good enough to bond the two of them tightly; enough to go into roughly the same line of work. Of course they didn't hate each other - they were friends, outside of the court. Not the closest of friends, but friends all the same.

"Who else are you keeping in there?" Miles shouted at Frank. He apparently didn't care about someone implying he'd be killed. Perhaps he'd gotten that so many times from Manfred to care.

"Am I going to tell you that? Names? No way. I'll give you numbers, though - we only kidnapped 5 people. Well, 4, really. 1 came willingly. You know her - quite well, I suppose. How about I give you a hint?" He walked closer to Phoenix and glared at him, smiling cruelly. "If this plan succeeds, we've agreed her niece won't be long for this world."

It took Phoenix a while to figure it out, but then he realized. Morgan Fey. Was she a part of this? Was this yet another of her plans to get Maya out of the way - so Pearl could finally be the Kurain master?

How many failed plans would it take for the woman to just give it up?

Phoenix threw a punch, straight for Frank's face - but he quickly dodged it, caught the fist in his palm and bent Phoenix's fore-arm back on the upper part. The pain was excruciating, but he didn't let go, and continued to try and push it upright. While he focused on his hand, Frank brought up his knee and kicked Phoenix straight in the balls.

With the pain from that blow, Nick instantly let go of Frank. For a magician, he sure was strong. Even Shadi Enigmar had looked muscular upon their few meetings together.

Frank laughed, cruelly. "Oh, Mr Wright, you do entertain me. But do you want to see the 5 people you know and - for most of them - love again, or not? Or do you want to stand here play fighting with me? Make your choice."

As if on cue, he heard two screams - 1 coming from his daughter, Trucy, and 1 from a girl a few years younger than himself he thought he'd never see again. She had a scream identical to her twin sister's and, after _that _trial, he'd had _that_ scream burned deep into his mind, along with everyone else in the courtroom.

Iris Hawthorne. His ex-girlfriend (well, close enough, anyway).

Even though Frank had slipped up on something he'd told them they wouldn't find out by him, it didn't make much difference. They still had to get him out of the way.

He cleared his throat exaggeratedly loud - this was the signal for Wendy and Will to come in. Wendy came in first, jumping up from the ground and kicking Frank straight into the wall. Even at her retired age she was still as limber as ever, and got back off the ground to pin him down like lightning, sitting on his back and hand cuffing one of his wrists to an old, rusted pipe. Unlike Steven, he couldn't escape by his spirit. They could keep him in one place by this strategy.

"Now let's go save some hostages."

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><p><strong>So, Wendy Oldbag and Will Powers - any of you guys get it right, give yourself a pat on the back and a cookie from me. :P Stay tuned for more, we're drawing to the conclusion. All your questions will be answered! :D<strong>


	11. The Final Countdown Epilogue

The Final Countdown - Epilogue

**And here it is, the epilogue. The final piece of our story, and a little sneak peek at my next fanfiction idea in the continued Apollo series of fics I'm working on (if you've seen FFDLG, too, you might understand better ;) ). Enjoy!~ ^^**

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><p>"So, this is how everything went down?<p>

"Frank was alerted to his sister-in-law's position - her supposed "death", and it being the fault of either Zak or Valant. In fury, he alerts his dead brother Steven. Something not many know about the Justice family is that they used to be highly skilled at moving their spirit between bodies, even long after death - but it was kept a secret after they started getting burned at the stake as witches. Using Pearls to move around was just a frame to protect that, and also to give them an alibi, as Morgan didn't bring Pearls in until later. See, Morgan used the Miracales to get around, agreeing to help them in their plan for only one reason - they made a deal that, if the plan succeeded, Maya would be the final victim. Pearls was brought in after Morgan betrayed them in their capture of Iris - Morgan refused to help them take her own daughter hostage, even though she'd not cared about the Hawthorne's since they left her.

"The reason Steven went after people I knew was because I got the policeman who killed him a complete acquittal. Dustin Prince, Maggey Byrde's ex-boyfriend and victim of a murder himself. Some people will probably go around saying Richard Wellington was really Steven Justice in disguise, but despite his strange actions in court I don't think so. He also did this out of anger, as I'd become fairly close to Apollo - his son. He wanted to get me framed for the murder, killing off people I might go after. His slip-up was Mr Justice; I didn't need to kidnap someone I lived with. There was no reason for me to.

"It's really simple, when you think about it. If you used to hang around watching The Steel Samurai with a bunch of spirit mediums, at least."

"Well, Trite... For a witness you sure like to do the defense's job." Even saying this, Diego's eery smile stayed plastered on his face. Phoenix merely smiled back.

"You got to cover the Miracale history - let's just say I felt a bit jealous."

"That was amazing, Daddy! You sure are a lawyer at heart!"

"Yeah, Mr Wright! No 'Chords Of Steel' training needed for you, either... Though it doesn't usually work."

"Thanks for saving us all, Mr Nick. We really owe you one."

"Yes, Mr Wright. And you too, Diego. You're always at my rescue, it seems."

Victory filled Defendant Lobby No. 3. While it was Diego's win in court, Phoenix had been the real savior of the case. But with all this praise, there was really only one person he was glad to see.

"Hey, Nick..." Maya Fey smiled at him nervously, waving from across the lobby. She was stood by the big courtroom doors, watching over at the joyous seen just feet away from her.

Phoenix approached her, awkwardly. It was weird - they hadn't met up in 7 years, and now he was at the lowest part in his career, while she was at her highest. It was kind of like 7 years ago in reverse; Phoenix was the famous defense attorney then, but Maya hadn't even got closer to being the Master of Kurain besides a trip to the mountains gone bad. And now here, the tables had turned, and Phoenix was left feeling intimidated.

She was absolutely stunning.

It seemed she'd really taken after Mia, though she was still quite short and flat. Even so, her face was more matured, and her hair was flowing down to her hips, like Mia's but darker. She was even wearing one of Mia's old suit-jackets over her TV-show-inspiring medium costume; the same purple shade he'd come to connect with Maya just by seeing it.

And here he was, PaPa hat resting on his tousled black hair; grey hoodie sweater covering his no-longer-young figure; stubbly chin that hadn't been shaven since the day before yesterday.

"H-hi, Ma- Mystic Maya, I mean." Phoenix corrected himself. He wasn't speaking to just any spirit medium anymore - she was the Master, he had to be more formal. They were no longer even close friends - and he was pretty sure first name basis rules didn't stretch out over 7 years.

She didn't seem to care as much.

"Oh please, I'm always Maya to you, Nick!" She laughed. _Outgoing as ever._ "Aunt Morgan was the only woman who ever cared for that in Kurain Village. She's no longer allowed entry, so we kind of abolished that 'Mystic' thing. I think Pearly is the only one who keeps it up!"

From across the room, Phoenix saw Pearl blush slightly, turning to them and shouting, "Hey, I do not! _That_ woman has no control over me anymore, Maya, and you know it!" She came over to them, laughing with Maya.

"'That woman' is your mother. Show some respect!" Maya teased.

And that's when Phoenix realized.

7 years had been too long for him. The waiting, the hoping she might call and ask what's up, the dreaming about her at night... It was all so powerful. And he knew why.

He couldn't stand to be away from these two women. Especially Maya. 3 years of working on cases together really left a mark, and he wanted to keep her close to him. Always.

So he risked it. All or nothing.

Kneeling down on one knee, he carefully reached for Maya's hand and spoke the words as they came so naturally to his mouth, "Maya Fey... I miss the days we used to work on cases together; I miss watching all the Global Studios Samurai shows with you; I miss you watering Charley and covering the Law Offices in Steel Samurai posters instead of Mia's old sad tragedy movie posters. But most of all, I miss having you around, just being you. And after 7 years, I've come to realize spending another day without you would kill me. I know it's been a while, but, Maya Fey - will you marry me?"

"Y-you're not... You're not married?" She asked, startled. _What about Trucy's Mother? What happened to her? Is this his idea of a joke now?_

"No, I've been single for 7 years. Truce kept me busy. What made you think that?" He gave her a confused look. Had he given off some kind of "married" vibe or something?

"Wait, then... How come you have a daughter?"

"Did I not explain that?" He asked her. He was completely puzzled. "She's adopted. I defended her Dad in my last trial, and he disappeared. I got kind of left with her - no living family. Look at her-" He pointed to Trucy, her blue cape swaying happily as she bounced around Klavier Gavin - who'd for some reason come in to check up on Trucy* - glad to be free. "She's 15. You aren't suggesting I became a father at 18, are you?" He laughed, trying to ease the tension that was building up around them.

"Oh. Well, now I feel like an idiot," She hit her head lightly, signifying her stupidity. "The only thing that stopped me contacting you was the wife I thought you'd gained. I didn't want to get in the way. I sort of told Larry that too, 'cause he'd chase after your wife like a freak, and your daughter when she got older, too."

They both laughed together - over each other's faults, and over Larry's with chasing after every object that even just somewhat represented a woman.

"So, on the marriage thing-" Phoenix began, but Maya interrupted him.

"Of course! What have I got to lose when I feel so complete with you?" She smiled at him, jumping into his arms as he stood up. He swung her round the lobby, as if they'd actually got married and not just engaged.

"I guess I was right after all - you really are Maya's special someone, aren't you, Mr Nick?" Pearl piped up, joyfully watching her cousin and her new fiance with tear-filled eyes.

"What's going on? Am I getting a new Mommy?" Trucy bounded over to them, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Oh, speaking of Mothers..." Phoenix let go of Maya, placing her gently back onto the floor like she was going to break with one bad move. He walked over to Thalassa - still dressed up pretending to be Lamiroir, as usual - and whispered something in her ear. She seemed to sigh, but came around.

"Apollo, Trucy, there's something really important I have to tell you, so listen close, okay?"

They both nodded, looking astonished. Not only did she seem to be able to see again, but they also didn't know why a Borginian singer would have anything to say to the two of them that she hadn't covered during the trial surrounding her manager, Romein LeTouse's, death.

"I know you didn't see the last bit of the trial with Mr Wright's speech because I asked him not to let you hear it. I wanted to tell you myself. I'm your mother. Both of you are my kids. And also..." She removed the blue silk cloak she'd been wearing over her white dress and showed them the real her. "I'm Thalassa Gramarye. I lived that accident all those years ago, but I was blinded, and suffered amnesia. Somehow I managed to make it to Borginia and become a singer there for money, but I'm not sure how I got my sight and memory back. Either way, I have my old life now - my kids, my sight, my memories, and now I can be Thalassa again!"

The three of them hugged. Apollo and Trucy were astounded they were not only related, but half-siblings! They always thought they had no one, but they had each other - and a Mother! Along with a man good enough a Father to them - Phoenix Wright.

"However, Mr Wright still has custody over both of you. And coming back here now is too awkward for you. I'll visit every now and then, but I want to make this as easy on you as possible, so I'm moving back to Borginia."

Tears filled each of their eyes as they said their final goodbyes. It was inevitable that she'd have to leave, but it stung more knowing their Mother was leaving them for real - yet again.

But somehow, everything seemed it was going to be okay. And now Trucy was going to have a new Mommy, to make her Daddy happy, too! One of her families had finally worked out really well, and that was all she'd wanted. The Gramarye/Enigmar family was never set to work out; the Just-Wright's might, though!

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><p><strong>*The Klavier part is a 'Falling For Daddy's Little Girl' reference. All my AJ-era fanfics are getting connected together, in a sense (Let The Monster Rise and my forthcoming Lily fics don't apply). Because running different stories set with the same characters and everything confuses me. o.o<strong>

** I know, this is such a lazy end, but I can't do courtroom scenarios! Really, they look super cool in the games, but trying to type them down into a story, well, it's all dialogue and nothing to describe, and it reads badly.**

**And thank you to my reviewers! ^^ As follows, Thank you tooo...**

** -Feyfangirl, my first and most frequent reviewer! And the one to assure me Diego vs Franzy wasn't just my idea of interesting. xD**

** -Blinth! The one who reminded me I needed to think up a defense attorney when I read the review; And who also made me think up a really original, interesting pair to be the prosecutor and defense. :L**

**-Sakana-chan63! Who should seriously be a beta reader for AA, because she pointed out my mistake in chapter 4. It was 17 cups... Sorry guys, I should've checked. ^^'**

** -Nostalgic Lass! The one with the super colourful avatar. Who hasn't reviewed since chapter 5. :( But I hope to see more of your reviews, and that goes for everyone else who only reviewed once a while back. ^^**

** -Kittycat0328! You've reviewed 2 of my stories now (this and 'Let The Monster Rise', unless I'm mistaken), and hopefully I'll continue to see more of your kind reviews in later stories! :)**

** -Purple Handprint! Sorry about my PM, I didn't realize it was relating to chapter 2 until much later. But the same applies - it was a subtle threat from Steven, sorry if I wasn't clear. .' And my PM is enabled now, so you can reply. :D**

** -And to the guests - James Birdsong and GreatThiefYatagarasuJR! You guys need proper accounts so I can thank you better and this can mean more than just a little guest-shout-out. :**

**-Finally, to the friends I forced to read this - thanks, both of you, even though it probably confused you because you've never played any AA games. But you should. And I stand by that point. :D**

** I don't have time to keep adding more reviewers, but thank you everyone! My FFDLG readers are my lovelies, so you guys can be my darlings. ;)**


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